The Scooby Doo Theory
by writerchic16
Summary: Castle and Beckett work on another strange case. Naturally, Castle thinks there's a murderous sewer monster, and Beckett tries to find the real killer. But this time, there might not be a logical explanation. Threeshot
1. Chapter 1

**The Scooby-Doo Theory**

Summary: Castle and Beckett work on another strange case. Naturally, Castle thinks there's a murderous sewer monster, and Beckett tries to find the real killer. But this time, there might not be a logical explanation. Threeshot

* * *

"Wow. What kind of animal can do _this_?"

Stunned, Kate stood next to their most recent vic, Castle at her side. As she stared down at the scratched, bitten, and bloody corpse, she could only guess what animal might be the culprit. A wolf, maybe?

The body had been found in Battery Park by a passing jogger at about five in the morning, and they'd arrived on the scene minutes later. Kate had a large cup of coffee in her hand, courtesy of Castle. But after seeing the mauled body, she realized she was wide awake. She gave the cup to him to hold as she crouched down next to Lanie so she could get a better look at the marks, careful not to disturb the scene.

Lanie sighed. "Don't know for sure, but the vic bled to death within a half hour of the attack, about three hours ago. Thanks to the blood trail, we can tell our poor vic crawled over from that open manhole." She pointed to one a couple feet to their left, unnecessary since crime scene tape surrounded it. "Which is impressive, given how deep some of these scars go. This man was a fighter."

"You'd have to be to get away from a mutant wolf," Castle suggested, his head tilted as he stared down at the middle-aged, Caucasian male body. He was so lost in thought that even Kate could tell he was already thinking of story plots for his next book. "Yeah, definitely going with mutant wolf. Or some other large mammal."

With a roll of her eyes, Kate retorted, "It's not Wolverine, Castle. Maybe an animal escaped from a zoo."

"If it was, it'd have to have been a reptile," Lanie said. She held up a pair of tweezers, which were gripping a small piece of lizard skin.

Kate groaned. Lizard skin, open manhole cover… She looked at Castle expectantly.

"What?" Castle asked, his face innocent. He quickly added, "By the way, that X-Men reference was totally hot."

Kate rolled her eyes again, but otherwise didn't acknowledge the comment. "Look, I know you, Castle." At least if she got all the crazy speculation over with right then, she wouldn't have to listen to any of it later. "Where's your wild theory about sewer alligators? Out with it."

Disappointed, Castle frowned. "I'm really that predictable?"

"Since you were talking about mutant wolves two minutes ago, I have to side with Beckett on this one," Lanie put in. Smug Kate nodded in agreement.

"But you just said it was a reptile!" Castle began, the embarrassing exchange already dismissed. "So it _is_ possible! What reasons could there be for a scratched up body and reptile skin?"

_There aren't many_, Kate thought. Still, she only needed about thirty seconds to think of one. "Maybe…someone really wanted this guy dead, so he or she bought an animal to get the job done." She paused. "We should get records from stores or individual sellers that carry large reptiles. Fortunately, I don't think many people have giant lizards as pets."

"In this city, you never know," Castle reminded her.

"That's true. There's all kinds of freaks out there," Lanie remarked with a chuckle. She then became business-like again. "Anyway, we think the crime happened wherever that manhole cover leads to, but you'll need to wait a little while. CSI is still looking for another way in."

Though the complication would frustrate her, Kate wasn't too upset. She, Ryan and Esposito would have plenty of pet store records to keep them busy. "Thanks, Lanie. I'll check in later."

* * *

Another weird case. Rick loved it.

As he sat in Beckett's office, he held a notebook in his lap, ready for the burst of inspiration he knew was coming. Already, ideas for the next Nikki Heat book were swirling around in his mind. _Nikki Heat versus the mutant sewer lizard…_ he thought happily while he wrote the idea down. _Wait, wait…Nikki Heat versus the _alien_ sewer lizard…better…_ Maybe if he didn't like how this case turned out, he'd give the next book a slight sci-fi twist. Fans wouldn't mind if he kept everyone in character, right?

Overwhelmed by the possibilities, he nearly jumped when Beckett slammed the phone back on its base. Fortunately, she was too distracted to notice his mock-able response, so he said, "No luck _yet_? You've been calling places for hours."

"I'm aware of that, Castle," Beckett snapped. At his raised eyebrow, she sighed. "I'm sorry, just more than a little aggravated right now. No pet store or seller we've called so far even _carries_ a lizard as big as the one Lanie says attacked our vic. Actually, she said the lizard that did it would've had to have been…" She paused, then reluctantly finished, "Human-sized."

Like she undoubtedly expected, Rick's eyes widened. "So it really _is_ an alien sewer monster?" he exclaimed. She gave him an exasperated glance. In defense, he held up his notebook. "Sorry, brainstorming."

"In the real world, Castle, we think of the next _logical_ explanation," she retorted. "I'm thinking our killer made this _look_ like animal attack to throw off suspicion. All of those scratches could've easily been made by a human being using some sort of weapon."

"But what about the bite marks? And the lizard skin?" Rick asked hopefully.

Beckett shrugged. "Easily explainable too. Maybe the attacker did use a real animal as part of his or her cover. It's pretty smart, actually. When this leaks to the press, we'll start getting crank calls about sewer alligators more than actual leads."

"Like Scooby-Doo villains," Rick reasoned. At her confusion, he said, "Oh come on, don't tell me you've never watched Scooby-Doo. It's a classic!"

"I've seen Scooby-Doo before. I just don't think it relates to our case," Beckett replied.

With a sigh, Castle patiently continued, "Scooby-Doo villains, famously known for dressing up in costumes. Locals always _think_ they're terrorized by a ghost, witch, mummy, what have you. That way they always steer clear of wherever the villain is hiding out. Of course, until the fearless mystery gang investigates, and discovers it's just regular bad guys wearing masks."

He was genuinely surprised when Beckett actually paused in consideration. "Huh," she remarked. "That would explain the picture."

"Picture? There's a picture and you didn't tell me?" Rick exclaimed, a little hurt.

But she ignored him as she went to her office door. "Ryan, Esposito? Either of you have the picture of our suspect?"

"Got it right here, Beckett," Ryan said as he approached her with the glossy, magnified photo in hand.

Beckett took the picture and held it up to the light so all three could see it more clearly. It showed a long, slimy tail, about six feet in length as far as they could tell, turning a corner in the dark sewage pipe. The tail was probably even longer though since they couldn't see any of the body to which it was attached.

"Wow. Now _that_ is creepy," Rick remarked. He had to give credit to the CSI team member who took the picture. If _he'd_ seen that, whatever camera he'd been holding would've been dropped as he ran for the nearest street ladder.

Ryan nodded. "Gave me shivers when I first saw the _picture_. Can't imagine seeing it in real life."

As she stared at the picture with a critical eye, Beckett asked, "Now, that could easily be man-made, right? Sure, it looks realistic, but anything's possible with all the new materials out there these days."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this," Rick retorted childishly.

With a sigh, Beckett explained, "Sorry Castle, but I'd heard enough crazy ideas for one day, and with all the calls I had to make, I didn't feel like hearing more." Before he could protest further, she said, "So what do you think? We should do a check on all possibly synthetic materials that could be made to look like this tail, and the green slime too. Then we'll see who's been buying large amounts of it lately."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm on it," Ryan said as he took the picture back and went to update Esposito with the latest development.

Once Ryan was gone, Rick considered what he'd just learned. "Beckett, here's a question," he began while they went back into her office. "When whoever took that picture saw the tail, did he or she go after it? Of course, this is under the presumption that the person didn't faint. Or run screaming for his life."

"From what I understand, the photographer did run after it," Beckett replied. "But when he rounded the corner, it seemed that the suspect was gone." At his raised eyebrow, she added, "It was dark. The suspect was moving fast and the CSI couldn't see far enough." She sighed when she looked down at the number of pet stores she still had to call. "You know Castle, between pet stores and the new theory, I'm going to be making calls for a long time…"

Rick nodded. "And you want me out of your hair, got it. Let me know if you find anything." To be honest, he would've left soon even if she hadn't told him to go home. Inspiration wouldn't wait all day.

* * *

When he did get back to his place, Rick eagerly turned on his laptop. But instead of writing, he did some outlining first. Between last week's "alien"/secret agent encounter and this, he already had some great material. Which was good, because he'd been worried about writer's block after how long it took him to write the last novel.

Of course, he'd have to severely tweak the agent encounter so he didn't break confidentiality. But fortunately he had some buffer since the book would be fiction. Who would ever take him seriously, even if he did recount the adventure word for word?

He was so lost in his writing that he didn't even look up when Alexis got home from school. His mother was auditioning from some off-Broadway role she was pretty excited about, but after writing for hours, he was lucky if he could remember her birthday, never mind the play's title. Still, he was curteous enough to greet his daughter before she went upstairs to do homework. "Hey honey, don't mind me, I'm in the zone!"

Alexis laughed, then kissed him on the cheek in greeting before she went into the kitchen to grab a snack. "Interesting day at work, I guess?"

"Oh _yeah_. Looks like Manhattan has its very own Loch Ness Monster," Rick said, adding dramatic flair to his voice.

"Really, Dad?" Alexis replied, an eyebrow raised. "Last week it was aliens, now this?"

Rick frowned. "Okay, so it's not really a Loch Ness Monster. But that would just be so much _cooler_, wouldn't it?" When she nodded in agreement, he continued, "CSI grabbed a picture of a slimy tail rounding a corner when they were investigating a sewer. Beckett thinks it's just a guy in a costume though."

"You mean like Scooby-Doo?" Alexis asked.

"That's my girl! See, _you_ made the connection!" Rick exclaimed. "Anyway, yes, like Scooby-Doo. Personally I think Beckett's just unwilling to accept that there could be an alien lizard running around under Manhattan."

Alexis shook her head. "Can't imagine why." A bowl of cereal serving as an easy snack in hand, she sat down on the couch across from her father. "Dad, quick question. While working with Beckett, you've run into a lot of stuff that seems paranormal or sci-fi at first, then you find out the truth when the investigation is over. But…do you actually _believe_ in that stuff? Or is it just your writer imagination going overboard?"

The unexpected inquiry made Rick stop typing. "Well, that's not really a _quick_ question…" he muttered, already wondering what his feelings on the subject were. Whenever he started rattling off crazy theories, it was done in a joking manner, mostly to get on Beckett's nerves. He usually never stopped to think if he really believed in whatever idea he was spouting at the moment.

"Well, Alexis…I don't know, honestly," he began, which made his daughter's eyes widen in surprise. "I guess…I guess I'm just open-minded to the possibilities. I'd _like_ to believe that magical and other-worldly stuff is out there. But am I as naïve as I appear to be, talking aliens and mutant wolves at the first sign of something strange? Of course not. That's just to annoy Beckett."

That got Alexis laughing. "I'm not surprised. But…_mutant wolves_?"

"Yeah, at first when we saw the vic, I thought he might've been attacked by a mutant wolf," Rick explained. "Then Lanie showed us the reptile skin. Now I've moved on to mutant and/or alien lizard."

Alexis shook her head in disbelief. "Sometimes your cases are so interesting that you don't even _need_ to embellish them for your books."

"Yup. And thank goodness for that," Rick said as he happily went back to outlining.

* * *

A couple of Author's Notes:

- This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter Castle story. And writing an investigation. So I apologize if there are any mistakes character-wise, or concerning police procedure.

- I originally wanted to write a Castle crossover with Wizards of Waverly Place, since they're my two favorite shows, and they both take place in Manhattan. But the more I thought about it, the more it became just a Castle story. So, there will be some WOWP, but _very_ little, in one short scene in the last chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

His name was Andrew Rutledge. CSI had found his bloody wallet about two feet from the street ladder he'd climbed while trying to escape. It was suspected that the wallet fell when the animal, or human, attacker clawed at Andrew's pocket and slashed it open.

At first, Kate had been thrilled to find this vital piece of information. Since calling pet stores and synthetic material suppliers got them _no where_ so far, this new lead was a welcome relief. They could start investigating the personal side of the murder, and maybe finally get a few suspects.

That was Kate's thinking yesterday. Now, about a full day later, she was even more frustrated than she had been. She couldn't imagine why anyone would've wanted Andrew dead. True, he was a corporate lawyer, and his will would leave a substantial amount of money to the beneficiary. But since he and his wife Lisa had no children, most of his money was going to various animal charities. His wife had actually supported the decision, since she was a successful corporate lawyer herself, and her own will matched his almost exactly. From what Kate knew, the two had dozens of equally successful friends but no family, since both were only children. They were going to look into Lisa's finances, since Andrew had left her a decent amount even though most of it was donated, but that didn't seem promising. Lisa had seemed very much in love with her husband.

So, at this point, Kate wanted to scream.

Their only option at this point was to keep digging until they found _something_. Ryan was interviewing all of their friends, hoping to find one who knew if there were any strains on Lisa and Andrew's marriage. And Esposito was interviewing Andrew's coworkers, trying to discover if anyone had a problem with him. The team also thought there might be a lead in the _time_ of death. After all, what would a lawyer be doing wandering around a park at two in the morning? But Esposito said every single coworker he interviewed told him Andrew had been working late every night for a case…until about midnight. So by the time he drove home, that _would_ be around one. And Lisa said he often liked to cut through the park from where he left his car. Not the safest choice, but the path was usually well-lighted, and he always carried pepper spray. They were even looking into the charities listed in the lawyers will to see if there were any charity workers who would kill for their cause.

All of this pointed to a random killing. But by _who_? Or, as much as she hated to admit it, by _what_? She really was considering that maybe some sort of large animal _did _commit the crime. It was the only answer that made any sense.

The monotous task of making calls was starting to drive her nuts, so when she saw Esposito walk into the precint, she practically ran over to him, grateful for a distraction. "So, any leads at the law firm?" she asked.

Aware that he was letting her down, Esposito's shoulders sagged. "Not a one. From what I could get, his case was on the level, don't think anyone on either side would want to off him. Same with his coworkers. They were all singing his praises. One guy broke down in tears when he heard Rutledge was dead."

Kate groaned. "I was afraid of that. This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed as she wandered over to their relatively barren timeline. Esposito went to stand next to her. "There has to be _someone_ who wanted to kill this guy!" she nearly yelled. "I refuse to believe that some mutant monster dragged him into the sewers!"

Her uncharacteristic breakdown earned her stares from others in the room. Captain Montgomery poked his head out of his office. "Beckett? Is everything all right?"

"Oh, uh, yes, sir. I was just…venting. Sorry," Kate replied, her face red from humiliation. The captain nodded, then went back into his office. With a sigh, Kate turned back to the board. "Okay, what do we know so far? Rutledge's assistant saw him leave the office at twelve-fifteen the night of the murder…"

Esposito raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we go over this like a million times?" At her annoyed glance, he decided not to question her. "One more time couldn't hurt."

"Exactly. Now, Rutledge's assistant has an alibi because his apartment building's security cam has him walking in at twelve-thirty," Kate went on. "And the law firm's security shows Rutledge walking _out_ in one piece at exactly twelve-fifteen. The assistant's in the clear. Since Rutledge's credit cards came up clean, we have to assume he drove straight to his usual parking spot, about a block away from his townhouse. A local resident who usually walks her dog late at night and sometimes used to chat with Rutledge says she saw him park in his typical spot that night as well, at about twelve-fifty. The two exchanged small talk, then she went on her way, and he headed into the park. As usual."

In a rehearsed voice, Esposito continued, "Lanie said he died at about two in the morning. Which means Rutledge probably encountered his attacker then and tried to escape for about an hour. Makes perfect sense."

"Unfortunately. There's absolutely no clue who the killer was." Kate's eyes widened. "Unless it's a serial killer, and Rutledge was an easy victim. That would make sense since there are no suspects."

Though he didn't look like he supported the idea, Esposito reluctantly replied,"I guess. The violent death and lizard skin could be a calling card."

"Oh…God…" Kate whispered. Esposito was absolutely right - why would anyone else go through the much trouble of slashing up and biting the body like that? "What about the tail, though?" she quickly added when the memory came to her. "Would any serial killer really be so cocky as to taunt CSI _while the crime scene is being investigated_? Wouldn't the lizard skin be enough?"

Before Esposito could say anything, Ryan and Castle walked into the precint. "Good news, Beckett," Ryan called. "CSI is done, you can go in now." Since the sewer was cramped quarters, Beckett had been told the crime scene was off-limits until CSI was finished with it.

"Finally! Maybe we can make some progress now," Kate replied happily as she grabbed her coat. "Ryan, you and Esposito stay here. You need to keep making calls. Castle, you're with me. You two be ready though in case we need back up."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kate and Castle stood around an open manhole on a sidewalk just outside Battery Park, the one CSI had used to access the crime scene. The two were equipped with almost blinding flashlights, but even with both pointed down the ladder, they couldn't see the bottom. "Ready to go?" Kate asked.

"U-uh," Castle replied, his voice wavering. "Y-you sure there weren't more powerful flashlights back at the precint?"

Kate couldn't help but laugh at his rare hesitation. "What's the matter, Castle? Want a Scooby Snack?"

"That depends. If you mean the cocktail with rum and Midori, then yeah, sure, I could use a Scooby Snack right now," Castle replied nervously.

"I can't believe it," Kate teased, thoroughly enjoying this. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark."

Though he still gulped, her comment got him on the defensive. "No, not just that! It's going down a long, slippery ladder into the cold, dark Manhattan underworld to chase after who-knows-what. I'm a writer, okay? I can clearly _imagine_ 'who-knows-what,' and it isn't pleasant."

"Well, if you want, I can go down by myself, and you can stay here to get control of your imagination," Kate said as she knelt to the ground. After all the dead ends she was hitting with this case, she _needed _to see the crime scene first-hand. Castle could be a baby if he wanted, but she was going.

Her determination seemed to knock the sense back into him. "Okay, okay, I'm right behind you. Just…hold onto the ladder with both hands at all times, please?"

To placate him, Kate kept the flashlight clipped to her belt, but still switched on, as she slowly descended. Of course the damp sewer was pitch black. It was just tall and wide enough for the two to stand at full height side-by side. A thin stream of water flowed underfoot, so made Kate happy she'd thought to change into the rainboots she kept in her car. Castle had put on an old pair of sneakers when he got Ryan's call.

"We go that way, right?" Castle pointed in the direction that should go further into the park. "Is it far?"

Kate shrugged. "CSI said they left markers for us." About a foot ahead, there was a piece of duct tape about six inches long stuck to the wall. "I think that's it. Look for those, and we'll be fine."

They walked for about a half hour, chatting about nothing to avoid eerie silence. "So, how's Alexis doing with her new boyfriend?" she asked, mostly because she knew talking about his daughter would help Castle relax.

"Oh, did I tell you how meeting her parents went?" he asked. "They think I'm fascinating and wanted to go on the trip as well. Though I'm still not quite sure if that just means they don't trust their son to be alone with the crazy writer."

Kate laughed. "Although they have every right to be concerned, I wouldn't worry about it. If they're still letting him date Alexis, they like you, trust me."

"Good to know then. But Alexis said -"

He abruptly stopped when the sound of heavy breathing echoed through the sewer. "Beckett, that's not funny," he insisted.

"I was about to accuse you of the same," Beckett assured him. It felt like some cliché slasher flick - a couple, alone in the dark, stalked by a killer with a nasal problem. Because of the echo, she couldn't even tell where it was coming from. Determined to keep her cool, she said, "Come on, it's probably nothing."

Castle gave her an incredulous stare. "That's what the first victim in a horror movie always says. 'It's nothing. Let's go further into the creepy house.'"

"Stop it. We need to see that crime scene. Let's _go_," Kate said, though she was starting to grow a little on edge. Was it just her, or was the breathing getting louder? Sure enough, they didn't get much further before a loud snarl interrupted the heavy breathing. "Okay, what was that?"

He gulped again. "I believe that was our cue to get out of here. Can we go _now_?"

"Castle, man up, will you?" Kate snapped as she took out her gun. "Whatever it is, I'm armed, remember?"

"G-good thing, too," Castle said while he pointed a shaking hand to a spot behind her.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Come on. You really think I'm falling for that old trick? There's no snarling monster right…b-behind…" She'd turned around to prove her point…only to nearly drop her flashlight at the sight.

The lizard thing's scaly, slimy, dark green head bumped up against the top of the sewer, which meant it was about a foot taller than them. The rest of the lizard body was much the same, except for the bright white, sharp set of fangs. Wide, bloodshot yellow eyes were menacing. And its hands each had claws that were about a foot long. And sure enough, a long, thick tail stretched ten feet behind it.

"Oh…oh, my _God_…" she yelped. Though her hands were shaking, she fired three shots straight at the thing's chest.

With impatient annoyance, the lizard only shook its head. Then it yanked the bullets out of its chest and tossed them to the side. If it _was_ a costume with a person underneath, it hadn't been wearing a vest, as the bullets had left small wounds. Wounds that didn't hurt at all, apparently.

And then it let out a mighty, threatening _hiss_.

"Uh…B-Beckett…"

But Kate barely heard him over the thunder of her heart racing. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, her hands still shaking as they clutched her useless gun. _What…_she thought. _How…what the _hell…_Castle was _right_? That never happens! There has to be some kind of explanation for this!_

"_Beckett_!"

She snapped out of it and retorted, "What is it, Castle?"

"Sorry to bother you, but I think this is when we…you know…run for our lives?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, let's get out of here," Beckett replied. Still in a shocked daze, she and Castle ran away from the monster, with no idea how much further the next street ladder would be.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Just felt like warning you, one of the genres _is_ supernatural. So this won't turn out _exactly_ like a Scooby-Doo episode. The Wizards of Waverly Place crossover also kicks in this chapter - ended up including a little more of that show than I originally intended, but I like how everything turned out. Thanks for the great reviews, glad I did okay with my first Castle chapter story! Hopefully you won't mind the slightly unusual twist. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 3**

After what felt like an hour of running, Rick and Beckett managed to put some distance between themselves and the lizard…but not enough to reach another ladder. They reached an intersection, so they dared to catch their breath. For a brief moment, they stood next to each other, their hands on their knees. "So…it _was_ a mutant lizard monster!" Rick said through jagged gasps for air. "_Finally_! I knew one of my theories to turn out right one of these days."

"Not…funny…Castle…" Beckett sputtered. She looked back down the sewage pipe to make sure the pursuer still wasn't in sight. "We have to figure out what the hell that thing is so we can get out of here alive. There has to be a way to unmask the monster."

Rick shrugged. "I didn't see a zipper in the back. Although, that could be because I was far too busy screaming." Naturally, the creature had scared him. If it _was _fake, then he had to give major kudos to the costume maker. Every drip of slime, every razor-sharp tooth, even the bad breath all seemed so real. "Wait, correct me if I'm wrong, but…if this _was_ the murderer, wouldn't he just want to scare us off? Why would he want to test his luck by offing a cop and a famous writer when he doesn't need to?"

"That's…true…" Beckett realized, her eyes widened as she looked with the flashlight further down the pipe they'd just run through to check if it was clear. "I don't see anything. Do you honestly think we're okay, though? It _really_ looked like it wanted to rip us to shreds."

"Well, yeah, we should still get out of here as soon as we can," Rick agreed, then explained, "One of my theories _finally _turned out to be right, which means we probably shouldn't trust my next one. Just your basic odds."

Beckett gave him a perplexed look in response before she looked around the intersection. "Okay then, do you see a piece of duct tape anywhere? Maybe we're close to the crime scene. Hopefully we didn't take too many wrong turns."

"I don't see one. So which way do we go?" Rick asked. They were at an intersection where they could choose to either keep going straight or make a right.

"Um, well…hold on, let me get a mental picture of where we are in the park," Beckett said as she closed her eyes. Rick let her think, and kept a watchful eye on the entrance. Fortunately for them, because the monster was picking up speed, thundering down the sewer. It let out another loud hiss that made Beckett's eyes snap open. "Oh, God."

His pulse quickening, Rick asked, "Which way?"

"Turn. Hurry!" Beckett said while she started to do so. But before she could, the lizard super-sped to their choice's entrance to block them from escape. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "How the _hell _did it do that?"

Rick stared at the lizard with new-found terror. "Someone's been eating his Wheaties."

"This is insane," Beckett muttered as she took out her gun again and tried to seem threatening. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

The lizard's huge bug-eyes blinked. Then it turned its head and shot some acidic green goop at the other two exits.

"Oh, God, we're gonna die," Rick said in horror.

Beckett's face also overcome with pure fear, one of the few times Rick had ever seen that, she determinedly emptied her gun into the monster. Her shots were aimed all over the place with the hope that she'd hit a weak spot. Given what happened last time it was shot, Rick wasn't that surprised when the lizard barely lost balance.

However, it did roar with annoyance and start to pick at the bullets. This gave them a precious few minutes to think of their next move. Or say their final prayers.

As she moved closer to him so they could talk, Beckett explained, "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I'll be damned if I'm going to die by being clawed to death. We throw the thing off-balance so that he crashes into his own acid, then we go back the way we came."

"Brilliant. See, this is why you're the cop, and I'm the writer," Rick replied gratefully. "Because I was about to start saying all kinds of sentimental yet eloquent last words."

"Oh, please," she said as she gestured to the lizard. The irritated monster was trying to pick a bullet out of his left foot. "He's totally distracted. We've been standing here talking for like what, a minute? In fact, we should probably make our move now so we can get ahead for - "

She was interrupted when there was a sudden, bright flash of purple light that made both of them cover their eyes. _What's this?_ Rick thought eagerly. _More weirdness? I love this case so much!_

When the light subsided, the sewer was still there…but all of the green acid was gone. And the lizard monster was still trying to pull bullets out. But someway, somehow, it was only a foot tall.

Shocked, the two could only stand there in silence for a long, bewildered moment as they stared at their pint-sized attacker. Even Rick, the experienced writer, could not think of an explanation that made sense. He hadn't even known what the lizard really _was_, so thinking of why it had suddenly shrunk was nearly impossible. On that note, he didn't even want to imagine how hard this must be for serious, logical Beckett to comprehend.

As if on cue, Beckett sputtered, "W-what the _hell_ just happened?"

"A miracle," Rick reminded her. "That thing would've killed us eventually."

Frustrated, Beckett shook her head. "I know, Castle, but…just _how_? There has…there _has_ to be some way to explain…There _has_ to be…"

Afraid she might be having a breakdown, Rick quickly put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's get back to the precinct, or at least back to the car so you can relax. We can look at the crime scene another day."

"N-no…" Becket insisted. "I need to find out…_how_…"

His heart was breaking for her at that point. This was traumatizing her, and there was nothing he could do to help. "I'm sorry, Kate. For once in maybe the entire time I've known you, I'm not sure what to say."

* * *

Her head was spinning. Between running from the monster, and then witnessing "a miracle," Kate _really_ needed to sit down. But since that wasn't an option, she took out her gun and pointed it to where the light had come from.

Alarmed, Castle raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Beckett?"

"Someone had to flash that light. It didn't appear out of nowhere," Kate insisted. Her mind was going through every possible explanation for what happened, including someone replacing the giant lizard with a similar, smaller version, but none seemed probable. So she relied on her first instinct – taking some sort of control over the situation. "NYPD," she barked. "I don't know where you're hiding, but whoever you are, show yourselves _now_."

"Great, now you're going to get us arrested. I always knew this would happen."

The voice was distinctly male, but...younger, like a teenager. Another teenager's voice, this one a girl's, replied to him.

"What? That we'd be fighting a lizard monster and expose magic in front of a cop? Talk about freakishly accurate paranoia."

"Very funny. I _meant_ that you'd be arrested one day, and take me down with you."

"You're the one who started talking! If we'd just stayed quiet, no one would've known we were even here!"

"Okay, that _was_ my bad. But I can't help it, authority figures make my nervous! Especially when there's a gun pointed at me!"

Surprised, confused Kate traded glances with equally confused Castle. They heard the teenage voices loud and clear, but the speakers were still hidden. And the odd conversation topic just made the situation worse. _"Magic"? And how am I pointing the gun at him when he isn't even here?_ _What the hell is going on?_ Kate thought frantically. Her gun still held out in front of her, she demanded again, "_Show yourselves now._"

"Okay, okay! Please don't shoot!" the male voice pleaded.

There was another spark of light, this one blue. When it cleared, sure enough, there were two nearly average teenagers around Alexis' age standing there, a girl and boy who looked like they could be siblings. The boy was wearing a black vest that covered his upper body. And they were both carrying weird sticks in their hands, the girl's red and decorated, the guy's simple wood.

Still plenty wary, Kate showed some faith and put her gun back in its holster. Shaking with nerves, the boy seemed like he was about to pass out any second. And while she put up a brave front, Kate could sense that the girl was equally afraid. She wasn't sure what it was, maybe neglected maternal instinct, but she felt as if they were just kids who'd ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, despite their unusual behavior. Of course, she wasn't about to drop the tough cop image just yet. "I want your names, and an explanation," she ordered, her arms crossed in an intimidating manner. "What's going on here? And you'll possibly save yourselves a trip to the precinct if you tell the truth the first time."

The anxious teens exchanged unsure looks. Finally, the boy cleared his throat. "I-I'm Justin Russo, and this is my little sister, Alex. And, uh..."

Alex sighed. "We're wizards. We have wands," she said as she held up hers. "And magic powers. My brother is a monster hunter, so we were tracking the lizard beast." She pointed to the miniaturized creature, which was still picking bullets out of its body. "That's what killed that guy the other night."

"_Alex_!" Justin admonished, frustration in his voice. "Didn't you learn anything from Crumbs' test? You don't expose magic. _Ever_."

Instead of showing remorse, Alex rolled her eyes. "Well what was I supposed to tell them, that we're aliens or something?" At Justin's "that would've been better" expression, she shrugged. "Eh, what can I say, I guess I'm going through an honesty phase. It'll pass, I'm sure."

"Wait, wait, hold on a second," Castle finally spoke up. He actually seemed to be _enjoying_ this confrontation, amused by the siblings' banter and amazed by the supposed existence of magic. "What _kind_ of wizards are you? Like in _Charmed and Dangerous_?" At Kate's exasperated glance, he explained, "I had to ask! Alexis _loved_ those books!"

Justin chuckled. "Yeah. Actually, our friend Harper got one of us to send her back in time so she could write and sell those books, which she based on our lives." He paused. "I'm still wondering how any of us thought that was a good idea. Makes me worried that Alex becomes the family wizard after all."

"Says the guy who just panicked and let the mortals know we were here," Alex snapped. "If we did things my way, we would've been able to capture the lizard thing and sneak away _without_ getting arrested. Sure, the cop probably would've ended up in therapy, but again, _not my fault_."

_This is getting way out of hand_, Kate thought. Despite the impossible conversation, she was determined to make sense of this mess. "Hey, 'the cop's' name is Detective Kate Beckett. I still don't know what's going on, but I'm taking you two down to the precinct. Maybe waiting in jail until your parents take you home will get you to start telling the truth. The _real_ truth."

"You know what, I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner," Justin said as he held up his wand. At Alex's look, he explained, "I'll just cast a memory spell on them so they forget the monster _and_ us. Problem solved."

As Kate's eyes widened, curious what exactly he meant by that, Castle stepped in. "Whoa, okay now, there has to be some way to resolve this without...that. How about, uh, we just promise to keep our mouths shut and let you two go?"

"Excuse me, Castle?" Kate retorted, almost hysterical from aggravation. "There's no such thing as magic, okay? There's an explanation for everything we've seen, we just can't figure it out yet. I'm not letting our only suspects walk because you believe their insane story!"

About to get out her handcuffs, Kate started to feel dizzy again, overwhelmed by the damp sewer air and all she'd witnessed in the last hour. Though she tried to fight it, she eventually fainted, falling into Castle's arms as everything went black.

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Theresa! You've raised some wonderful kids. Thanks for being a fan, love Rick Castle." He handed the copy of _Naked Heat_ to excited Justin. "Here you go. I meant every word."

"You wouldn't if you got to know us," Alex assured him. She glanced at the signature, then narrowed her eyes at Justin. "That Christmas present is from me too, by the way."

Justin raised an eyebrow. "Hah! _I'm_ the one who thought of it! You didn't even know Mom was a fan of his books!"

"I know she's a fan of his picture on the back covers," Alex said with a laugh, which made Rick's face redden. She then turned to the author. "Yeah, she thinks you're 'muy caliente.' I'm pretty sure that means cute." Shaking her head, she added, "Besides, Justin, he wouldn't even _be_ here to sign the book if I hadn't used the shrinking spell on that lizard."

Despite his embarrassment, Rick had to chuckle at the translation mix-up. Both Alex and Justin had such unique, entertaining personalities that he'd love to make them characters. _So not fair that the Charmed and Dangerous author could travel back in time and beat me to it,_ he thoughtresentfully. _I call foul._ "She has a point, Justin. I'm making an executive decision. The book's from both of you." Though Justin wasn't happy about it, he reluctantly nodded in acceptance.

They were standing the park, above the sewers where they'd met. The siblings had used their magic to transport everyone above ground. Of course Castle had been unnerved by the sensation of traveling by magic, but he was still able to support unconscious Beckett and lay her on a nearby bench. That's when Justin remembered that his mother was a fan, and Rick had told him where the copy of _Naked Heat_ was in his apartment so the wizard could make it appear. Giving the Russos a hardcover copy of his latest book from his private stash seemed like the least he could do.

As he looked over at Beckett, he did feel awful that she hadn't been able to take the news. But _he_ was pretty happy to discover that magic actually existed. He always tried to find the excitement, the unexpected in life, even if he had to make it up himself. So realizing that sometimes what seemed to be fantastically impossible could be such wasn't a bad thing at all. In fact, it made him hopeful that maybe one day he'd run into something other worldly again. Naturally, he also hoped whatever it was would be as friendly and helpful as these two wizards.

Funny how he and Alexis were just talking about this the other day. At least now he knew he was being honest. Too bad he couldn't tell her about this. Well, he could, but she'd never believe him.

"Look you two...thanks again," he said. "And I promise I'll never breathe a word of this to anyone. I'm all for the whole eccentric author image, but I think professing my belief in the paranormal would be a little much."

The siblings laughed. "Thanks, Mr. Castle," Justin replied while Alex nodded appreciatively. "Honestly, I always feel a little weird casting memory spells. It's like an invasion of privacy." He gave his sister a meaningful glare. "And trust me, I know what that's like."

"Hah, hah, hah," Alex retorted. "I'll have you know that I haven't stolen anything from your room in over a month." At her brother's look, she confessed, "Okay, a week. But I returned the stuff I stole a month ago, so that doesn't count!"

Rick chuckled again, amazed that wizards could have normal sibling problems. "Oh man, I _really_ wish I could write a book about you two."

"Already been done," Justin said, as if the author needed reminding.

Pouting, Rick whined, "And it's so not fair!"

Still worried as she looked over at the unconscious cop, Alex said, "So, we don't have to worry about Detective Beckett, right? Like, she's not going to wake up and issue a warrant for our arrest, is she?" She glanced at her brother. "Maybe we should do the memory spell. On her at least."

Alarmed when Justin considered the idea, Rick sputtered, "Whoa, whoa, no one's casting a spell on Beckett! There's no way she'd be okay with that...if she did believe in magic..." However, he had to admit that it wasn't exactly a _bad_ idea. He knew that accepting magic's existence, or trying to prove to herself that it didn't, might cost Beckett some of her sanity. Still, he knew it wasn't his choice to allow the Russos to erase her memories.

So he made another executive decision. "How about this..." he began. "When Beckett wakes up...I'll tell her that she fainted before we even entered the sewer. She'll probably think everything else was a dream anyway."

Sure, Rick would always feel guilty about lying to Beckett this way. And she would be furious with him if she ever found out. Still, if he could spare Beckett the pain of going through this, he was going to do it, whether it was the right choice or not.

The wizards were satisfied with that plan, and the three said their good-byes. They exchanged personal email addresses, both so the kids could let Rick know how their mother liked the present, and so they could warn him if there were any supernatural killers he and Beckett should avoid. Of course, he had no idea how he would keep Beckett away from anything she thought committed murder, but he sure would try.

* * *

She was lying on what felt like a bench. And someone was poking her shoulder.

_What...how..._

Her mind still unclear, Kate managed to slowly open her eyes, then blinked when the bright sun seemed harsh. Finally her vision sharpened enough that she felt comfortable keeping her eyes open.

"Rise and shine, Beckett." Castle's voice sounded so loud. Was he right next to her? "Wakey, wakey."

"Stop it..." Kate muttered. One hand on the bench's back, she managed to pull herself up. "What the hell happened?" she moaned as she put her free hand to her aching head. "Last I remember, we were...we were..." For some reason, her memory of the last few hours seemed a little fuzzy. She remembered bits and pieces though...running through the sewers...talking to a couple of kids...

"We were going to check out the crime scene," Castle reminded her. "Walking across the park when you passed out. I would've called for help, of course, but I remembered you saying you hadn't gotten a chance to eat anything substantial all day, and you did mention you were starving. So I figured we'd just get something to eat when you woke up since I guessed you wouldn't want to go to the hospital."

The information made Kate pause while she tried to place what he said in her memory. She did sort of recall being hungry all day, and she obviously did faint. Then again, why would Castle lie to her about this? Which meant those bits she remembered must have been a very odd dream. Which made a lot of sense, considering she also "remembered" something about magic and wizards. _Absolutely crazy_, she thought with an amused shake of her head. "Good call Castle, but for future reference if someone ever _does_ pass out, you should take them to the hospital whether you think they would want to or not."

"Duly noted," Castle replied. "So, _are_ you okay?"

Though she was still surprised that she'd uncharacteristically fainted, Kate nodded. "I think I am." She then laughed. "Man, my brain must really be fried. I had this dream where we _were_ on our way to the crime scene, but we were chased by this lizard monster and rescued by _wizards_. Weird, huh?"

"Maybe my crazy imagination is rubbing off on you. I'm so proud," Castle teased, then helped her stand up. "Now let's get you something to eat."

"No, we have to check out the crime scene," Kate insisted. They couldn't just leave when she was supposed to work. Everyone would want to know what she thought of the crime scene, and she'd prefer if no one found out her little fainting incident.

"Your health comes first," Castle reminded her as he started to guide her towards a deli across the street. "Everything else can wait."

About to protest, Kate paused when her stomach rumbled. The last thing she wanted was to faint again. Besides, for some reason her gut instinct was telling her this was one murder she wouldn't be able to solve, no matter how much research she did. While she hated when a case became cold, it _did_ happen. And unless some vital evidence turned up, this would probably be one of those cases. With a disappointed sigh, she began walking towards the deli. "Fine, Castle. Guess it wouldn't hurt to grab some dinner."

**The End**


End file.
